Fancy some pecan pie with bourbon caramel, honey roast sweet potato or  mustard ice cream? We asked the head chefs at some of the best restaurants in the country to share their signature ice creams and the flavours they’d create in their dreams. The results are truly inspirational.

Bread and Wine – Neil Jewel
On the menu: Mustard ice cream, served with smoked tongue.
At home: Rum ‘n raisin (since childhood) and Häagen Dazs pralines and cream flavour. It’s a guilty pleasure to enjoy a whole tub in one go!
In my dreams: The smell of the mountain whilst cycling; the decadence of truffles and foie gras; the sound of friends round the table, with the knowledge that I’m off duty in the morning.

Camphors at Vergelegen  – PJ Vadas
On the menu: Pecan pie with a bourbon caramel swirl. It’s deliciously creamy and sweet, with a crunch from the pecan dragee nuts inside. The bourbon caramel gives it a chewy texture that reminds you exactly of pecan pie.
At home: My dad’s salted caramel. It is pure joy.
In my dreams: My favourite thing in the world is to braai, so if I can encapsulate that in a cone that would be amazing.

Delaire Graff Estate Restaurant – Christiaan Campbell
On the menu: Honey, fig and toasted almond ice cream. We use fresh figs lightly cooked with sugar and vanilla, slow toasted almonds and unpasteurised natural honey.
At home: I love chocolate ice cream made with Valrhona chocolate sourced from Madagascar.
In my dreams: Toasted heirloom wheat ice cream. We’re working on toasting the wheat slowly until golden brown and cooking it in milk before puréeing. The wheatbix flavour tugs at memories and the emotions.

DW Eleven-13 – Marthinus Ferreira
On the menu: Gorgonzola ice cream served as a cheese dish with shredded celery, walnut soil, port jelly, port mayonnaise, sultanas and frozen grapes. Smooth and not very sweet, the ice cream allows the other elements to bring out its flavour.
At home: Chocolate mint ice cream. We used to serve it with our chocolate fondant. There’s something about the flavours of mint and chocolate that I just love. I could eat a whole bowl of it!
In my dreams: Savoury ice creams, using herbs and vegetables.

Five Hundred – David Higgs
On the menu: Lychee ice cream paired with a liquorice macaroon – the combination is awesome.
At home: I’m a raspberry sorbet fanatic. It has all the elements: sweet, sour, fruity, fresh… everything that a sorbet should be.
In my dreams: I’m not mad about savoury flavours; I have a seriously sweet tooth. So it would definitely be a malva ice cream. I love eating cold malva!

The Greenhouse – Peter Templehoff
On the menu: At the moment we do a spring pea ice cream, but we all remember the honey-roasted sweet potato flavour. Just before serving we would fold in butter and honey glazed sweet potato pieces for extra texture and flavour. It’s quite sweet, but earthy too, lending itself well to many different ingredients.
At home: Pasteis de nata flavoured ice cream. Buy a bunch of tarts, blend them into an ice cream base and freeze. Done!
In my dreams: Foie gras ice cream – no question.

Hartford House – Jackie Cameron
On the menu: On the sweet side we have Amarula and on the savoury side a Kamberg KZN ‘parma’ ham ice cream that complements freshly picked garden pea soup beautifully and can also be served to balance out a sweet/savoury dessert of Christmas cake with cheese and cherries. We also make mind-blowing Maltabella ice cream served it with Amarula crème and prune compote… for breakfast!
At home: I’m a traditionalist, so a superb homemade vanilla bean ice cream is always top on my list.
In my dreams: Champagne ice cream. I just can’t get enough of bubbles and it would conjure up fantastic times with friends and family. Or a bunny chow ice cream incorporating spicy lamb neck, mieliebrood, amasi curd, dhanya and tomato and onion bredie.

Indochine – Virgil Kahn
On the menu: Chocolate praline ice cream, with a texture like rich velvet and a last-minute crunch of praline.
At home: Roasted pumpkin ice cream.
In my dreams: Pumpkin ice cream. Its light velvety texture is very refreshing: more savoury than sweet, different and unique. 

Jordan Restaurant – George Jardine
On the menu: Vanilla bean. I know it’s boring, but for me nothing beats it, apart from maybe fresh strawberry. Or chocolate, caramel, tonka bean, coconut or cardamom. I suppose we have a few popular ice creams.
At home: Vanilla.
In my dreams: Any flavour we want to…

The Kitchen at Maison – Arno Janse Van Rensburg
On the menu: Gooseberry yoghurt ice cream with freshly squeezed gooseberry juice, yoghurt, milk and honey.
At home: Black sesame.
In my dreams: Grape must. 

La Colombe – Scot Kirton
On the menu: Pumpkin ice cream on the pumpkin dessert or the toasted, rolled oats ice cream. The oats flavour is very interesting and not many people instantly recognise it. Customers love it, though.
At home: Tonka bean. I has a wonderful flavour and aroma.
In my dreams: I would like to create an ice cream based on speckled eggs, with a crisp coating around the outside and a jelly layer around a perfect ball of ice cream. Who knows, you might see it on the menu one day!

Makaron – Tanja Kruger
On the menu: We don’t have a specific flavour as a signature, but we do have a signature technique in that all our ice creams are baked. My favourite is coconut and lime at the moment, which is deliciously sour and fragrant at the same time.
At home: Peanut butter ice cream. I could eat bucketloads!
In my dreams: I would make some of my favourite dishes into ice cream, like my mom’s coconut flan or my granny’s buttermilk rusks.

Overture – Bertus Basson
On the menu: Tonka bean with almond praline. Tonka beans have a strong amaretto flavour that works well with almonds and apricot, with the praline adding a welcome bit of crunch.
At home: I have a personal fetish for good vanilla ice cream, usually with chocolate sauce. It’s such a classic.
In my dreams: My dream ice cream would be a brandy and coke ice cream.

Pierneef à La Motte  – Chris Erasmus
On the menu: Milk punch ice cream (brandy and or rum with cinnamon-and-clove-infused custard), milk tart ice cream and sweet corn husk ice cream that we serve with wild berries.
At home: Mango atchar sorbet and rose petal ice cream.
In my dreams: I think maroela would be interesting!

Planet Restaurant – Rudi Liebenberg
On the menu: Kitchen favourites are roasted peanut (with ground peanut praline) and banana, cinnamon, as well as mocha hazelnut.
At home: Anything that has nuts and chocolate in it.
In my dreams: Still nuts, praline and chocolate.

The Restaurant at Waterkloof– Gregory Czarnecki
On the menu: Granny Smith and celery sorbet. It used to be part of a signature dish with rich camembert crème brûlée and curried candy walnuts. A pinch of Fleur de Sel before sending lifts the savoury flavour and grabs the taste buds.
At home: Amarena cherry, which is a small, dark, sour cherry from Italy. I tasted it in Paris and that’s the flavour I choose above any other.
In my dreams: Super hero ice cream! Once you eat it you gain the super power of your favourite hero, and it would taste like whatever you’re craving at that moment! The effect would be for a limited time – any excuse to eat more ice cream! I’ve almost done it, but just need to find some rainbow powder… 

Rust en Vrede  – John Shuttleworth
On the menu: At the moment my favourite on the menu is our popcorn ice cream with popped, roasted corn infused in milk. We use a Pacojet to blitz the frozen ice cream, giving it the most amazing smooth texture.
At home: I love coffee ice cream but also a really good vanilla is quite special.
In my dreams: On Saturday evenings, after the hard week, the team has a beer together. Maybe beer ice cream for summer?

The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais – Margot Janse
On the menu: We make a wicked sticky bun ice cream that people swoon over. There are two ingredients in it: creme anglaise and our famous sticky buns. It’s thick and sweet and unctuous. We served it in The Common Room and have brought it back in our new Lounge Bar.
At home: I am not too fond of sweet things; my favourite is lemon or lime sorbet.
In my dreams: Rainbow flavour. I would love to taste that.

The Test Kitchen – Luke Dale-Roberts
On the menu: I once made a curry and honeycomb brittle ice cream. I scented the ice cream base with a little saffron and folded the brittle through. I liked the way it went cold and then started getting hot.
At home: I’m a sucker for a great coffee ice cream.
In my dreams: It would depend on my dreams at the time.

Tokara – Richard Carstens
On the menu: smoked salmon ice cream in the dish, baked Alaska of rainbow trout with cucumber and citrus salsa with ginger, soya and mirin.
At home: Chocolate and hazelnut ice cream.
In my dreams: Through the years we’ve created myriad flavours, like curry, red cabbage and wholegrain mustard, foie gras, sushi rice, Szechuan, sumac and coriander.

This story is featured in the brand new issue of Eat Out, on sale now. Read all the judges’ comments, find out about the secret lives of chefs and write your 2014 restaurant bucket list with the Eat Out 500: 500 of the best restaurants in the country, as rated by our panel of 50 reviewers.